Sunday, November 17, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Visuals 6.
Four generations & an uncle.
Finger painting this morning.
Pallets.
Jackson at Nonotuck Park.
50¢ binoculars and Mt. Holyoke.
The Holyoke Merry-Go-Round.
Visuals: Pacific Rim, Star Trek: Voyager, American Horror Story, Movie 43, Wall-E, Liebstraum.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Extraction.
ex·trac·tion
ikˈstrakSHən/:
noun
the action of taking out something, esp. using effort or force.
"mineral extraction"
synonyms: removal, taking out, drawing out, pulling out.
Almost three Fridays ago, i decided to eat a salad. It was a good salad. Full of nice chicken, beans, and artichoke hearts. I took a good bite out of one artichoke heart and WHAM! Instant pain in one of my upper right teeth.
It hurt like hell, but quickly subsided and i thought nothing of it.
Fast forward to Tuesday and this dull throb starts to gain it's timber upon the tooth that i had bitten hard on with of all things: an artichoke heart.
The pain increased and by Wednesday afternoon i decided to go to the dentist. I left work at 215pm and made an emergency appointment for 430pm. I went home and lay in pain, hoping the dentist would find out if there was food or some seed or something lodged in the tooth, or in between the teeth.
The throb's crescendo increased into every heart beat, every pump of blood would send it to the tooth. I was starting to feel the full blown agony of this ache, and my already weak will was waning.
After some prodding, banging on the tooth and finally an X-ray, my poor tooth (#5 by the charts) had jammed up into my jaw with such force, that one of the roots was broken and the nerve was exposed.
So, it's time to extract this thing and send me home right?!
Why, no. I think the dentist sort of whined (it was getting to be around 5pm) that they had a 'dinner meeting' that night. My ire was growing. I knew this was getting worse. I told the dental assistant that i was feeling feverish. She took my temperature and it was normal.
I finally piped up 'excuse me, i am in agony. Could you get this DAMNED THING out of my mouth?!'
The dentist walked out of the room and came back maybe ten minutes later and said that they couldn't do the extraction due to 'possible complications.' I knew i was getting the brush. i wonder what kind of nice meal they would have at their dinner meeting? I sure wasn't going to be eating anything besides yogurt, that's for sure.
So the dentist writes out a prescription for some 'high end narcotic' and gives me the number for an oral surgeon i'm supposed to see the next day. Ok. at least i won't be in pain tonight.
Just wait until you read what happens next.
I get to the pharmacy. The pharmacist takes the prescription slip, i am still in agony. HE then calls me back over after five minutes and lets me know that he's having a problem with the dentist's federal Id. This is a n identification number doctors and the like get to dole out their super happy fun meds. Well her's wasn't working. HE calls her and confirms the number. It still doesn't work. He tells me to try another pharmacy. I shuffle out, in pain and getting angry.
And the same thing happens at the next pharmacy. I inquire as to why the ID is not working. The pharmacist says it could be anything from the dentist failing to register properly to passing fraudulent scripts.
Maybe the dentist was too busy planning a dinner meeting to care about their patient's well being.
So i head home. After doing the only thing i could think of to dull the pain ( i was told not to take aspirin etc. as i may be put under for the extraction the next day) and bought some vodka.
I went home, slammed two double shots and went off to lala land.
And then around 9 pm, i was drenched in sweat, delusional and in the worse pain ever. The right side of my face had started to swell up and the pain was reaching behind my eye. I was guzzling water (no more vodka, my body did not want that.) and sweating it out at an alarming rate. I would have these delusional dreams that i was in Black Flag and on tour singing for them. I mean i felt like i was right there in the thick of it. I was G-O-N-E GONE.
Morning brought more pain and i could barely put two words together. Terri took my tempurature: 102.9. I was dangerously close to being hospitalized but decided to stick it out, knowing the extraction would fix everything.
Terri called for my appointment at 215, i called into work and proceeded to moan about the house like some feverish specter.
I forced down half a bowl of oatmeal and guzzled more water. Finally, my appointment arrived and after a grueling session of forms i was in the waiting room and it started to smell. Like rot or something.
As a matter of fact, i can taste the smell. I was like burned milk or hair that is on fire. Just awful.
I made it into the exam room of the oral surgeon and i was a bare bones triage. The oral surgeon-my new hero- was way cooler than any dentist i've had. He and his assistants had this sense of urgency that i can only equate to Harry Tuttle in the movie Brazil.
HE stuck one finger in my mouth and said 'we've got pus.' and started filling my mouth with gauze.
ikˈstrakSHən/:
noun
the action of taking out something, esp. using effort or force.
"mineral extraction"
synonyms: removal, taking out, drawing out, pulling out.
Almost three Fridays ago, i decided to eat a salad. It was a good salad. Full of nice chicken, beans, and artichoke hearts. I took a good bite out of one artichoke heart and WHAM! Instant pain in one of my upper right teeth.
It hurt like hell, but quickly subsided and i thought nothing of it.
Fast forward to Tuesday and this dull throb starts to gain it's timber upon the tooth that i had bitten hard on with of all things: an artichoke heart.
The pain increased and by Wednesday afternoon i decided to go to the dentist. I left work at 215pm and made an emergency appointment for 430pm. I went home and lay in pain, hoping the dentist would find out if there was food or some seed or something lodged in the tooth, or in between the teeth.
The throb's crescendo increased into every heart beat, every pump of blood would send it to the tooth. I was starting to feel the full blown agony of this ache, and my already weak will was waning.
After some prodding, banging on the tooth and finally an X-ray, my poor tooth (#5 by the charts) had jammed up into my jaw with such force, that one of the roots was broken and the nerve was exposed.
So, it's time to extract this thing and send me home right?!
Why, no. I think the dentist sort of whined (it was getting to be around 5pm) that they had a 'dinner meeting' that night. My ire was growing. I knew this was getting worse. I told the dental assistant that i was feeling feverish. She took my temperature and it was normal.
I finally piped up 'excuse me, i am in agony. Could you get this DAMNED THING out of my mouth?!'
The dentist walked out of the room and came back maybe ten minutes later and said that they couldn't do the extraction due to 'possible complications.' I knew i was getting the brush. i wonder what kind of nice meal they would have at their dinner meeting? I sure wasn't going to be eating anything besides yogurt, that's for sure.
So the dentist writes out a prescription for some 'high end narcotic' and gives me the number for an oral surgeon i'm supposed to see the next day. Ok. at least i won't be in pain tonight.
Just wait until you read what happens next.
I get to the pharmacy. The pharmacist takes the prescription slip, i am still in agony. HE then calls me back over after five minutes and lets me know that he's having a problem with the dentist's federal Id. This is a n identification number doctors and the like get to dole out their super happy fun meds. Well her's wasn't working. HE calls her and confirms the number. It still doesn't work. He tells me to try another pharmacy. I shuffle out, in pain and getting angry.
And the same thing happens at the next pharmacy. I inquire as to why the ID is not working. The pharmacist says it could be anything from the dentist failing to register properly to passing fraudulent scripts.
Maybe the dentist was too busy planning a dinner meeting to care about their patient's well being.
So i head home. After doing the only thing i could think of to dull the pain ( i was told not to take aspirin etc. as i may be put under for the extraction the next day) and bought some vodka.
I went home, slammed two double shots and went off to lala land.
And then around 9 pm, i was drenched in sweat, delusional and in the worse pain ever. The right side of my face had started to swell up and the pain was reaching behind my eye. I was guzzling water (no more vodka, my body did not want that.) and sweating it out at an alarming rate. I would have these delusional dreams that i was in Black Flag and on tour singing for them. I mean i felt like i was right there in the thick of it. I was G-O-N-E GONE.
Morning brought more pain and i could barely put two words together. Terri took my tempurature: 102.9. I was dangerously close to being hospitalized but decided to stick it out, knowing the extraction would fix everything.
Terri called for my appointment at 215, i called into work and proceeded to moan about the house like some feverish specter.
I forced down half a bowl of oatmeal and guzzled more water. Finally, my appointment arrived and after a grueling session of forms i was in the waiting room and it started to smell. Like rot or something.
As a matter of fact, i can taste the smell. I was like burned milk or hair that is on fire. Just awful.
I made it into the exam room of the oral surgeon and i was a bare bones triage. The oral surgeon-my new hero- was way cooler than any dentist i've had. He and his assistants had this sense of urgency that i can only equate to Harry Tuttle in the movie Brazil.
HE stuck one finger in my mouth and said 'we've got pus.' and started filling my mouth with gauze.
I said 'that's what i've been tasting?!' and the oral surgeon snaps back with 'you should smell it!'
My kind of humor. I like this place.
So the tooth has to come out. HE had this huge needle with these small vials of novocaine that he kept punching into the ever growing pus filled gap that was above my poor old #5 tooth. The assistant informed me as the numbness set in, that the bacteria in the infection actually counter acts the numbing agent in the novocaine. That's why the oral surgeon had to stab me five times and use four vials of the stuff.
So, out the tooth goes and they power wash into the hole to get all of the infection out. The assistants suction hose kept getting gooped up with pus as she worked. They even cut at the top of my gum line and attached a tube to 'help drain me out.'
I was already feeling a lot better. I was down a tooth, but i finally got what i needed.
So they sent me out-$124 later- with some powerful antibiotics and some vicodin to help ease me through the next days.
Oh, and what's that? Why yes, i do operate heavy machinery dear oral surgeon. Oh what? Well i agree. I probably shouldn't go to work and rest up until Tuesday.
I took the antibiotics faithfully, and despite taking two of the pain pills right off the bat ( i owed this to my self after the previous evenings delirium) i took them as prescribed and even had the following Monday off of then vicodin completely and on to acetaminophen.
So the tooth has to come out. HE had this huge needle with these small vials of novocaine that he kept punching into the ever growing pus filled gap that was above my poor old #5 tooth. The assistant informed me as the numbness set in, that the bacteria in the infection actually counter acts the numbing agent in the novocaine. That's why the oral surgeon had to stab me five times and use four vials of the stuff.
So, out the tooth goes and they power wash into the hole to get all of the infection out. The assistants suction hose kept getting gooped up with pus as she worked. They even cut at the top of my gum line and attached a tube to 'help drain me out.'
I was already feeling a lot better. I was down a tooth, but i finally got what i needed.
So they sent me out-$124 later- with some powerful antibiotics and some vicodin to help ease me through the next days.
Oh, and what's that? Why yes, i do operate heavy machinery dear oral surgeon. Oh what? Well i agree. I probably shouldn't go to work and rest up until Tuesday.
I took the antibiotics faithfully, and despite taking two of the pain pills right off the bat ( i owed this to my self after the previous evenings delirium) i took them as prescribed and even had the following Monday off of then vicodin completely and on to acetaminophen.
Oh, and to my dentist: here's what you do LIKE THE ORAL SURGEON DID: you call to make sure your patient is all right. You follow through and take care of the people that pay you to do so.
I cancelled the Monday appointment with my dentist and received a rather rude message from the receptionist about making a follow up appointment. As if.
So i went through pain and feverish agony all night because:
a) They wouldn't do an extraction because of a dinner meeting.
b) The dentists FID was not working for me to get relief.
I am taking the high road. I have thrown at least $5000 at this dentist over the past six years only to be treated like some sort of second class citizen.
I have decided that tooth #5 was not the only thing being extracted from my life.
Long live tooth #5. May an aspiring dentist use you well to train on.
I cancelled the Monday appointment with my dentist and received a rather rude message from the receptionist about making a follow up appointment. As if.
So i went through pain and feverish agony all night because:
a) They wouldn't do an extraction because of a dinner meeting.
b) The dentists FID was not working for me to get relief.
I am taking the high road. I have thrown at least $5000 at this dentist over the past six years only to be treated like some sort of second class citizen.
I have decided that tooth #5 was not the only thing being extracted from my life.
Long live tooth #5. May an aspiring dentist use you well to train on.
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